The vaccine that Larry Mathews is getting won't protect him from the flu. That's OK -- the stakes are far higher than that. He's hoping the shots will prime his immune system to fight the aggressive cancer that has invaded his brain. If it works as he wants it to, his body's own killer cells will mop up malignant cells that surgery, radiation and chemotherapy couldn't eliminate. For decades, scientists have been trying to create vaccines like this to recruit the body's immune system to destroy cancer cells the way it wipes out foreign viruses and bacteria.

The vaccine that Larry Mathews is getting won't protect him from the flu. That's OK -- the stakes are far higher than that. He's hoping the shots will prime his immune system to fight the aggressive cancer that has invaded his brain. If it works as he wants it to, his body's own killer cells will mop up malignant cells that surgery, radiation and chemotherapy couldn't eliminate. For decades, scientists have been trying to create vaccines like this to recruit the body's immune system to destroy cancer cells the way it wipes out foreign viruses and bacteria.

There is still no cure for cancer yet, but for millions of women and girls at risk of contracting the deadliest strains of cervical cancer, scientists have created the next best thing: a preventative vaccine. Gardasil, a revolutionary three-shot regimen, is the first cancer vaccine ever developed and protects against four strains of a sexually transmitted virus that cause 70 percent of cervical cancers and 90 percent of genital warts. Its life-saving capacity convinced the Food and Drug Administration to approve its use because, while it's new and its long-term performance is still being studied, five years of research have shown it to be safe and highly effective.

Scientists have developed a vaccine that prevents breast cancer from forming in mice, according to findings published in the journal Nature Medicine. The researchers from the Cleveland Clinic Learner Research Institute are preparing to conduct human drug trials, but they say it could be years before the vaccine is available on the market. The vaccine targets a protein in most breast tumors. It was injected into genetically cancer-prone mice to prevent tumors from forming.

Many conservatives oppose the new cervical cancer vaccine because they are afraid that it will "increase the sexual activity of our young girls." I find it almost impossible not to laugh at such outrageous statements. Do religious conservatives believe that the threat of a possible cervical cancer 30 years in the future will affect a young girl's sexual behavior? As a gynecologist for over 20 years, I can attest to the fact that a young girl considering whether or not to have sex is concerned with getting caught in the act, with the morality of premarital sex, with getting pregnant, and with the fear of contacting chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes or AIDS.

A government-funded study testing a herpes vaccine is under way at more than 20 sites across the United States. The study of 7,500 women will examine whether the vaccine, given in three doses within six months, can prevent infections in women ages 17 to 35 who have not been exposed to either HSV-1 or HSV-2. Earlier studies of the vaccine showed it wasn't effective in women who were already exposed to either or both of the viruses. It also didn't work in men. But it was found to protect against infection in more than 70 percent of women who weren't previously exposed to HSV-1 or HSV-2.

Dear Dr. Donohue: What would you do if your daughter had a Gardasil shot and then found out she was pregnant? - Anon. Dear Anon.: Gardasil vaccine, commonly called the cancer vaccine, contains no living organisms, viruses or bacteria. It's composed of the remnants of four viruses, two of which are most responsible for cervical cancer and two of which are responsible for most genital warts. Those viruses belong to the human papillomavirus family. In laboratory animals given 300 times the dose used in humans, no harm came to the animals or to their fetuses.

Dear Dr. Donohue: What is this about a cancer vaccine? I have heard people at work talking about it, but I haven't seen anything in print or on TV or the radio. Do you know what this is all about? -- R.M. Dear R.M.: There's been talk about this matter in all the media. It is a vaccine for prevention of genital warts, a sometime precursor of cervical cancer, one of the most common female cancers. The human papillomavirus, HPV, is a large virus family with more than 70 distinct strains.

Your guide to the best consumer advice and recommendations published in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel last week: Cervical cancer vaccine State legislators will debate a bill requiring a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, one of the leading causes of death in women, for Florida middle-school girls when the Legislature convenes in its regular session beginning March 6. What you need to know: Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by the sexually transmitted...

Pat Alpert's breast cancer came back and spread to her lungs, her liver and her bones. A stem cell transplant failed. Several chemotherapies failed. Doctors said she had a month, maybe five, to live. She made funeral arrangements and a video to leave behind expressing her love for her physician husband, two daughters and granddaughter, not yet 3. Then came news of an experimental treatment that might offer some hope -- a genetically engineered compound that blocks a substance the tumor cells need to continue their spread.

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC said U.S. regulators approved its vaccine Cervarix to prevent the leading cause of cervical cancer in women. The approval from the Food and Drug Administration allows Glaxo to compete against Merck & Co.'s blockbuster vaccine Gardasil. Glaxo said it expects to launch the vaccine late this year. The vaccine blocks human papilloma virus strains 16 and 18, the two types that cause 75 percent of cervical cancers. Additionally, Glaxo said the vaccine is also effective against strain 31, which is the third-most-common HPV type that causes cancer.

Posted by Barbara Hijek on September 14, 2009 10:15 AM, September 14, 2009

Here's the deal for Simone Davis, a 17-year-old English native who wants to attend Pensacola Christian College. The Port St. Joe teenager has to take the Gardasil human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine or she can't become a U.S. citizen. If she's not a citizen, she can't go to the college. That vaccination is designed to prevent cervical cancer and is included in a list of vaccinations required for immigrants seeking to become U.S. citizens. Simone, born in Colchester, England, and her grandmother, Jeannie Davis, believe the government is ?

A vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline successfully blocks the virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer, the Food and Drug Administration said. In documents posted online, the FDA said Cervarix - Glaxo's vaccine against human papilloma virus, or HPV- successfully blocked the two most cancerous strains of the virus nearly 93 percent of the time. The agency will ask a panel of vaccine experts next week whether Cervarix should be approved for girls and women ages 10 to 25. The FDA is not required to follow the group's advice, though it usually does.

Dear Dr. Donohue: What would you do if your daughter had a Gardasil shot and then found out she was pregnant? - Anon. Dear Anon.: Gardasil vaccine, commonly called the cancer vaccine, contains no living organisms, viruses or bacteria. It's composed of the remnants of four viruses, two of which are most responsible for cervical cancer and two of which are responsible for most genital warts. Those viruses belong to the human papillomavirus family. In laboratory animals given 300 times the dose used in humans, no harm came to the animals or to their fetuses.

There is still no cure for cancer yet, but for millions of women and girls at risk of contracting the deadliest strains of cervical cancer, scientists have created the next best thing: a preventative vaccine. Gardasil, a revolutionary three-shot regimen, is the first cancer vaccine ever developed and protects against four strains of a sexually transmitted virus that cause 70 percent of cervical cancers and 90 percent of genital warts. Its life-saving capacity convinced the Food and Drug Administration to approve its use because, while it's new and its long-term performance is still being studied, five years of research have shown it to be safe and highly effective.

Many conservatives oppose the new cervical cancer vaccine because they are afraid that it will "increase the sexual activity of our young girls." I find it almost impossible not to laugh at such outrageous statements. Do religious conservatives believe that the threat of a possible cervical cancer 30 years in the future will affect a young girl's sexual behavior? As a gynecologist for over 20 years, I can attest to the fact that a young girl considering whether or not to have sex is concerned with getting caught in the act, with the morality of premarital sex, with getting pregnant, and with the fear of contacting chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes or AIDS.

A vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline successfully blocks the virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer, the Food and Drug Administration said. In documents posted online, the FDA said Cervarix - Glaxo's vaccine against human papilloma virus, or HPV- successfully blocked the two most cancerous strains of the virus nearly 93 percent of the time. The agency will ask a panel of vaccine experts next week whether Cervarix should be approved for girls and women ages 10 to 25. The FDA is not required to follow the group's advice, though it usually does.

Your guide to the best consumer advice and recommendations published in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel last week: Cervical cancer vaccine State legislators will debate a bill requiring a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, one of the leading causes of death in women, for Florida middle-school girls when the Legislature convenes in its regular session beginning March 6. What you need to know: Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by the sexually transmitted...